The Downside Of Socialized Medicine

KINCARDINE -- They don't have babies in this town any more.

Oh, sure, people fall in love and get married. Women get pregnant. But when it comes time to deliver the baby, they have to head out of town -- to Owen Sound, an hour away, or Walkerton, a 30 minute drive.

Kincardine is just one of scores of communities that have a doctor shortage. The local hospital, serving 12,000 people, doesn't have an obstetrician to deliver babies.

Local councillor Ken Craig is on a town committee working on strategies to attact more doctors and to keep those who are already here. He estimates that between 3,500 and 4,000 residents don't have a family doctor. Those people use the so-called "orphan clinic." It's not a perfect solution, because it means patients don't get to see the same doctor all the time, but it's the best they can do right now.

"It's just a question of supply and demand," says Craig. "The highest bidder gets the doctor."

And the emergency sign on the hospital could apply to most rural communties when it comes to doctors. They are in crisis.

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